"The Document Foundation announces LibreOffice 4.0, the free office suite the community has been dreaming of since 2001," the announcement reads. "LibreOffice 4.0 is the first release that reflects the objectives set by the community at the time of the announcement, in September 2010: a cleaner and leaner code base, an improved set of features, better interoperability, and a more diverse and inclusive ecosystem."

I've already looked in some depth at the roster of new features included in this popular suite, but earlier this week I had a chance to speak with LibreOffice developer and SUSE distinguished engineer Michael Meeks about the new release.

Based on what I've learned, there are six very good reasons to download this freshly updated software.

1. Big gains in interoperability

Interoperability with other formats and software is a boon for any user, but it's particularly critical for enterprise users.

"For businesses, I think the key feature of this new release would be improved interoperability," Meeks told me. "We've done a whole lot of work under the covers that's really helped improve the quality of our interoperability and our confidence in it."

Not only does LibreOffice 4.0 offer better interoperability with .docx and .rtf documents, including the possibility of importing ink annotations and attaching comments to text ranges, but it also features integration with content and document management systems including Alfresco, IBM FileNet P8, Microsoft Sharepoint 2010, Nuxeo, OpenText, and SAP NetWeaver Cloud Service through support for the Content Management Interoperability Services (CMIS) protocol.

Also included are Visio file format filters and Microsoft Publisher support.

2. Remote Control App for Android

Another new feature in LibreOffice 4.0 is the first release of Remote Control App for Android, which lets users control presentations from their Android phone.

"It's nice for doing demos at customer sites," Meeks explained. "It really helps to be able to just clone the screen and look at your phone with all your slides or notes."